The Board Chairman of the Ghana Airports Company Limited (GACL), James Agalga, has expressed serious concern over infrastructural decay at Accra International Airport (AIA), warning that the facility faces a potential disaster if urgent investments are not made.

Speaking on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show on Tuesday, April 7, 2026, Agalga said the airport is operating under distress, with critical systems such as the runway and waste management plants nearing the end of their functional lifespan.

He highlighted that the airport runway, now over 30 years old, urgently requires an overlay or resurfacing to ensure continued safe operations. Failure to act, he warned, could result in Ghana falling out of compliance with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards, potentially leading to a downgrade in the airport’s international status.

“After 11 o’clock, we don’t receive flights so that contractors can work on site. They operate at night. We’re racing against time. We have to fix it,” Agalga explained.

Agalga also raised alarms over the airport’s sewage treatment plant, which has exceeded its functional lifespan and poses a serious health and safety risk to travelers and staff.

“The sewage treatment plant at the airport has reached the point where it must be replaced. Its lifespan is over… one day we could have a disaster on our hands. Can you imagine if all those substances… explode?” he asked.

He estimated that replacing the plant could cost over $50 million, funds that he says cannot be raised without recently introduced airport levies. Under the new policy, domestic passengers pay a 100-cedi levy, while international travelers pay up to $100 on return journeys.

Agalga emphasized that these levies are not administrative fees but “survival taxes” intended to finance maintenance and upgrades at the airport.

“Unfortunately, that is where we are. It’s one reason why the airport company is in distress. The government believes that to fund all these projects, the introduction of new levies is justifiable,” he said.